Transcript Slide 1

SQL for Elite!
Mining the Enterprise Database
John Ashley
Financial Systems Administrator
Moore & Van Allen PLLC
Agenda
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Database Structures
Major Tables & Indices
SQL Basics
Joins
Query Examples
Tips & Tricks
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Database Structures
♦ Elite Documentation
– Heavy SQL users, print a copy out to have handy
– See table structures in Query Analyzer or Management
Studio’s Object Explorer
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Major Elite Tables & Indices
♦ matter
– mmatter, mclient, mbillaty
♦ client
– clnum, crelated
♦ timekeep
– tkinit
♦ ledger
– lindex, lmatter, llcode, lbatch
♦ timecard
– tindex, tmatter, ttk, tbatch
♦ cost
– cindex, cmatter, ctk, ccode,
cbatch
♦ batch
♦ trsttran
– trindex, tmatter, tracct, trbatch
♦ prohead
– phindex, phmatter, phbatch
♦ udf
– udfindex, udjoin
♦ ap
– apnum
♦ apaddr
– apnum, apaddid
♦ apvo
– vo_id, apnum, apaddid
♦ csd
– cknum, baid, apnum
– bbatch
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SQL Basics
♦ SELECT
– Identifies the columns in the resulting output
♦ FROM
– Identifies the source tables
♦ WHERE
– Applies criteria to the output
♦ GROUP BY
– Applies grouping when using summary functions
♦ HAVING
– Applies criteria based on GROUP BY
♦ ORDER BY
– Applies sorting to the output
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Aliases
♦ Alias a column or table within the SELECT or
FROM clause
– SELECT matter.mmatter matnum …
– SELECT matter.mmatter AS matnum …
♦ Reference the columns
using the table alias
– Helpful when joining
the same table multiple
times in the same query
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Joins
♦ INNER JOIN
– Returns only records from two
tables that match
♦ LEFT OUTER JOIN
– Returns all records from left table
and any records from the right table
that match
♦ RIGHT OUTER JOIN
– Returns all records from the right
table and any records from the left
table that match
– Usually best to rewrite as a LOJ
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Methods of Joining
♦ Join in the WHERE clause
– SELECT client.clname1, matter.mdesc1
FROM client, matter
WHERE client.clnum = matter.mclient
– Inner Join (=); Left Outer Join (*=), Right Outer Join (=*)
♦ Join in the FROM clause
– SELECT client.clname1, matter.mdesc1
FROM client
INNER JOIN matter ON client.clnum = matter.mclient
– Preferred Method
◊ Easier to read
◊ Helps avoid Cartesian joins
◊ ANSI Standard
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Left Outer Join Sample
♦ Number of open matters by billing attorney for all
Senior Partners
Inner Join
Outer Join (correct)
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Querying Tip #1
♦ Build queries one table at a time
– Start with the specific population
◊ Information on Non-Terminated Associates
SELECT *
FROM timekeep
WHERE tktitle = ‘Associate’
AND tktmdate IS NULL
◊ Note the number of records returned
– Add additional tables
– Ensure record count remains constant
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Criteria in Outer Joins
♦ Use criteria within the join
– Often necessary with outer joins
Criteria in WHERE
Criteria in FROM
66 records
67 records
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Limiting Result Sets
♦ Two options to limit your result set to a specific
number of records
– Top 10 Members by worked hours for 2009
TOP
SET ROWCOUNT
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UDF Fields
♦ UDF fields in Elite can
be set up for many
different types of
records
– Each UDF has an index
and is tied to a UDF type
(i.e. matter, client,
timekeep, vendor, etc.)
– For validated fields, it is
easy to find the index
number by pulling up a
record in the master file
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UDF Fields, cont.
♦ UDF list can be printed from Elite under Setups /
Other / User Defined Fields
♦ Alternatively, the code below will give you a list of
UDFs sorted by type and line #
– Keep handy if you will be querying on UDFs often
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UDF Fields, cont.
♦ UDF values are stored in the
udf table
♦ UDF validation descriptions are
stored in the udfval table
♦ Example Query:
– Firms that use Whitehill likely
have a matter udf called Total
Hours Billing that displays the
total hours on an invoice. How
many open matters are set to
display or not display Total
Hours?
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Summary Tables
♦ Summary tables in Elite are used for Inquiry.
– matths
◊ Summary statistics by matter by period
– mattimhs
◊ Summary statistics by matter by working timekeeper by period
– timewahs
◊ Summary statistics by working timekeeper by period
♦ Make sure you pick the right column for the exact
data that you need
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Summary Table Examples
♦ Year-to-date Collections for all matters of a client
– Collections will match Matter Inquiry in Elite
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Summary Table, cont.
♦ Top 10 Clients by worked hours for a timekeeper
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periodt Table
♦ When querying across multiple periods, I highly
recommend using the periodt table.
Not using periodt
Using periodt
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Transaction Volume Samples
♦ It is often helpful to see how much data is being
processed within Elite over a given date range
– Trust Volume Example – Number and absolute dollar
value of transactions by period
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Transaction Volumes, cont.
♦ Billing volume example – Number, amount and
average of invoices processed by billing operator
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Cost Write-down Sample
♦ Clients with more than $1,000 in cost write-downs
for the current period
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Time Card Sample
♦ Latest time entry and
timekeeper by client
– Use sub-queries
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Net Investment Sample
♦ WIP & AR by client and
matter
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AP Voucher Sample
♦ This query will return any vouchers that may be
duplicates
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AP Voucher / Cost Sample
♦ This query will return all unbilled client costs for a
specific vendor
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Tips & Tricks
♦ Use a read-only login when using Query Analyzer
or SQL Server Management Studio
– You don’t want to make any inadvertent changes
♦ Use UPPER-CASE for all SQL specific words
– This makes queries much easier to read when revisiting
later
♦ Use TOP clause to limit results when testing
– SELECT TOP 100 *
FROM client
ORDER BY clnum
– This is especially helpful when determining which
columns to pull into result set
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Tips & Tricks
♦ Comment your code!
– use two dashes to comment out
the remainder of a line
– use slash star ( /* ) to begin
commenting and star slash ( */ )
to close comment
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Acknowledgements
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ILTA
Moore & Van Allen
ILTA Thomson Elite Listserv participants
Elite
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Contact Info
John Ashley
Financial Systems Administrator
Moore & Van Allen PLLC
[email protected]
704-331-3578
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